# Incoterms FCA

FCA under Incoterms 2020: delivery points, risk, carriage costs, clearance and transport documents.

Reviewed: 2026-10-30

Tags: commercial, incoterms, delivery

## Meaning and edition

Under **FCA (Free Carrier), Incoterms® 2020**, the named point determines delivery and ordinary risk transfer. State that point in the contract: `FCA [named place and point of delivery] Incoterms® 2020`. [ICC, incorporation and named-place explanation](https://library.iccwbo.org/clp/clp-incoterms-qa-2020.htm?AGENT=ICC_UK).

## Two delivery situations

FCA applies to any transport mode or combination. Delivery to the buyer’s nominated carrier or other person differs with the agreed location:

| Named delivery place | Delivery event |
| --- | --- |
| Seller’s premises | Goods are loaded onto the collecting vehicle arranged by the buyer; loading remains the seller’s responsibility. |
| Another place | Goods arrive on the seller’s vehicle, ready for unloading and at the nominated recipient’s disposal. Delivery precedes unloading there. |

[ICC Academy, Miguel Angel Bustamante, 7 January 2025, FCA/EXW explanation](https://academy.iccwbo.org/incoterms/article/incoterms-2020-exw-or-fca/).

Under FCA A2/B10, if the buyer has not notified a specific point within the named place and several points are available, the seller may select one. Risk normally transfers at A2 delivery. B3 provides earlier risk consequences for nomination/notice failures or the nominated recipient’s failure to take charge, subject to the stated timing and identification of the contract goods. [ICC 2020 FCA, A2, B3 and B10](https://library.iccwbo.org/content/tfb/BOOKS/BK_0049/BK_0049_04_RulesAny.htm).

## Carriage, costs and clearance

The buyer normally contracts or arranges carriage from the delivery place. If agreed, the seller contracts on usual terms at the buyer’s risk and cost. Neither party owes the other an insurance contract under FCA, although the seller owes specified information assistance. [ICC 2020 FCA, A4/B4 and A5/B5](https://library.iccwbo.org/content/tfb/BOOKS/BK_0049/BK_0049_04_RulesAny.htm).

The seller handles applicable export clearance; the buyer handles applicable transit/import clearance. A9/B9 generally divide goods-related costs at delivery, with express allocations for clearance, proof and assistance. Payment for a service therefore does not independently relocate risk. [ICC 2020 FCA, A7/B7 and A9/B9](https://library.iccwbo.org/content/tfb/BOOKS/BK_0049/BK_0049_04_RulesAny.htm).

## Delivery proof and the 2020 on-board option

The seller supplies usual delivery proof at its cost; the buyer accepts it. The optional B6 transport document is at the buyer’s cost and risk. [ICC 2020 FCA, A6/B6](https://library.iccwbo.org/content/tfb/BOOKS/BK_0049/BK_0049_04_RulesAny.htm). A carrier receipt evidences custody; FCA does not prescribe one universal transport document. The sale and carriage contracts involve different obligations and parties. [ICC Academy, Christoph Martin Radtke, 1 December 2021, transport-document explanation](https://academy.iccwbo.org/incoterms/article/fca-and-dap-common-queries-contract-of-carriage/).

Incoterms 2020 added an optional arrangement: seller and buyer agree that the buyer instructs its carrier to issue an on-board bill of lading to the seller after vessel loading; the seller passes it to the buyer. Issuance is not guaranteed merely by the sale clause. The seller does not thereby assume responsibility for carriage-contract terms. Inland delivery and later vessel loading remain different events. **Explanatory synthesis:** the later document does not convert FCA delivery into on-board delivery or postpone its normal risk transfer. [ICC, 2020 versus 2010, section (a)](https://library.iccwbo.org/clp/clp-incoterms-2020vs2010.htm?AGENT=ICC_PRT&l3=Preface).

## Bounded comparisons

[EXW](incoterms-exw.md) makes goods available without requiring seller loading or export clearance. FCA at the seller’s premises includes both applicable export clearance and loading. [ICC Academy, FCA/EXW comparison](https://academy.iccwbo.org/incoterms/article/incoterms-2020-exw-or-fca/).

**CPT and CIP** require seller-paid carriage to a named destination, while delivery and risk transfer occur earlier at handover to the seller-contracted carrier. CIP also requires seller-procured cargo insurance; CPT does not impose that insurance obligation. A named destination under these C rules is consequently different from FCA’s named delivery place. [ICC Academy, Miguel Angel Bustamante, 20 June 2025, CPT/CIP comparison](https://academy.iccwbo.org/incoterms/article/incoterms-2020-cpt-or-cip/).

## Scope of the evidence

Incoterms allocate selected sale obligations; they do not determine title, payment terms, governing law or remedies, and do not replace the sale contract or bind a carrier through that contract alone. Contract variations and mandatory law remain outside this generic account. [ICC, scope and relationship to other contracts](https://library.iccwbo.org/clp/clp-incoterms-qa-2020.htm?AGENT=ICC_UK).

Research used the selected public ICC Digital Library 2020 rule text and explanations linked above, plus the original ICC Academy articles; it does not claim examination of the complete paid volume. Academy articles carry author-view qualifications. No particular contract, route, freight price, insurance policy, customs treatment or jurisdiction has been evaluated; this reference supplies no shipping recommendation or legal/tax conclusion.

## Related reference

[Commercial terms](index.md)